Dealing in Death
by Unhobbity Hobbit
Summary: Vampire hobbits are running amock in the Shire, this is just one encounter. A little slashy, but they're vampires, what do you expect? (need I say that it's AU?) Complete.
1. Default Chapter

Pippin wandered out into the cold night, he was wary of the darkness as hobbits went missing in it. Some returned covered in scratches and scars telling tales of demons in the shape of dead hobbits, some were found just lying by the side of the road drained of all blood. Others were never heard of again. Pippin, though, had been drinking, enough to overcome his sensible feelings of fear. His walk was unsteady as it often was when he left the inn. He drank to drown his woes regularly, as Bilbo's old song suggested he should. Fatty Bolger was always there to walk him home, Fatty understood and was always there to put up with the over-emotional tipsy Pippin. But tonight Fatty had not held back as he usually did. He had drunk more than Pippin and was out cold on a spare bed in the inn. Pippin had paid for Fatty and insisted that he was able to walk home by himself, despite his distinctly slurred speech (after all, you don't need to speak to walk home).  
  
The reason for Fatty's drinking was his sister, Estella, who had been found in a ditch with not a drop of blood left in her body. Pippin knew how he felt having lost two of his own sisters in the same way.  
  
Some perceptive hobbits had noticed a pattern to the deaths. The first to disappear without a trace was Frodo Baggins, just after mad old Bilbo had left. Frodo was followed by three of the Gamgee children. From there the curse spread out of Hobbiton, to those that had once known Frodo Baggins.  
  
Pippin shied away from making friends. His only friend outside his immediate family was now Fatty. Pippin dare not make any more friends because he felt that having one more person taken from him would shatter his heart.  
  
As he weaved his way home, it occurred to his foggy mind that if he wanted to find out what happened to his long-missing Merry, then he was going about it the right way. Smiling at his foolishness he turned back to the inn to take up the offer of that free bed. But then a thought struck him, perhaps he really could find out what happened to Merry, and meet him and everyone else again. His slow-moving mind forgot the dead bodies that were found fortnightly and the remnants of his family he would leave behind slipped his mind completely as he tottered towards his home.  
  
The cold of the night air breezed across Pippin's face and he found it refreshing. The silence was truly beautiful, he had never heard such a blissful lack of noise. It was just him and the trees swaying in the wind. Pippin span around and around, he had not been out a night for years and had forgotten how beautiful the world could be in the darkness with the moon shining down.  
  
His spinning came to an abrupt halt when he crashed into a very solid body standing in his way. Pippin bounced back, but the figure was barely touched. Pippin tipped his hat and apologised to the hobbit and gathered himself together to continue walking. The other lowered his hood and what Pippin saw there shocked him near sober.  
  
"F-Frodo?" Pippin rushed to his lost cousin and put his hands either side of his face as if to check if he were not just a figment of an alcohol muddled imagination. Frodo was fully solid. Pippin couldn't restrain himself, he had to hug Frodo to him like he had when he was not yet a teen. Frodo calmly returned the gesture and buried his less-than-warm face in Pippin's soft curls. "Why cousin Frodo," he savoured each word he spoke, "You are deathly cold!" Frodo smiled a smile that was not quite his.  
  
"That would be because I am dead my dear Took." Pippin frowned and looked up into his cousin's eyes. What he saw there was chilling. They were forehead to forehead and nose to nose, Pippin was suddenly shy in the presence of this Frodo that was not quite his. "There's someone else here to meet you." Said Frodo in a far more familiar and warm voice.  
  
Pippin turned to find Merry standing just a few paces away. He flung himself at Merry, just as he had done at Frodo and hugged him hard, checking he would not fade away to nothing and was more than a dream. Pippin looked to Merry's eyes as he had Frodo's and hoped not to see what he had seen earlier, but was not given the chance. He found that a cold mouth was pressed into his warm one in a kiss. A kiss that was a little too intimate for him, no matter how long they had been apart. He tried to pull away, but Merry had his hand on the back of his head and was holding Pippin there. Merry began to pluck, pull and suck at Pippin's lower lip and when Pippin still struggled, Merry nipped the lip and let Pippin break free of his hold.  
  
Pippin wiped a hand across his bleeding lip and stared at his cousin in hurt confusion. He turned away from Merry only to find himself face to face with Frodo. Frodo licked off the drop of blood forming on Pippin's lip. Pippin tired to back away but found himself sandwiched between his two cousins. Panic started to well in him, yet before it could persuade him to do anything either side of his neck burst into intense, burning pain. He gripped at Frodo's shoulders to try and pull him away from his neck but succeeded in doing nothing.  
  
The initial pain subsided but he could still acutely feel Merry's teeth in one side of his neck and Frodo's teeth the other. He could feel his hands and feet turning cold, then his knees began to buckle and soon he could do nothing as his essence flowed out of him. The world went black, blissfully black.  
  
Merry and Frodo pulled away and as Pippin slid slowly down Frodo's body they shared a kiss over his head and leaned against one another, basking in the afterglow of a fine feed.  
  
"Mr. Frodo! At last, I've been looking for you for two nights straight!" A stout figure strode out of the bushes toward Frodo. "Been having some fun I see." He motioned to the form of Pippin still clinging to and leaning against Frodo's legs. Frodo smiled and beckoned Sam to him. Sam obeyed and soon their mouths were fastened together, Sam hungrily tasting for all traces of blood. "That's the best I've tasted in a long while!" Said Sam when they parted, "Who is it?" Sam couldn't see Pippin face as Frodo obscured it from view. Frodo nudged Pippin with his knee and Pippin slid finally to the floor. His eyes were open but were obviously not seeing anything and he was taking shallow gasping breaths, he was all but dead. Sam raised an eyebrow, "What are you going to do with him now?"  
  
"Can we keep him please Frodo?" asked Merry and a strange light flashed in his eyes. "Sam was right, he tasted truly exquisite." Merry looked back down to the open wounds on Pippin's neck slowly leaking their precious fluid, it was all he could do to stop himself fixing his mouth around them again and finish Pippin off.  
  
"No." said Frodo quite simply, "He won't survive the night. Either we finish him, or we turn him." All three of them looked back down at the body, still breathing, they still had time to decide.  
  
"Well, if you decide t' turn him, I won't be the one doing it." Frodo ignored Sam and thought upon it. He would give Merry something to do while he and Sam were away, and he did have a very fine body. Frodo smiled and knelt beside the dying Pippin. He bit two neat holes in his wrist and held it over Pippin's mouth. He would be with them again soon, just like old times. 


	2. not so Default Chapter

A/N: Before I continue with this story (this is the last chapter by the way) I would like to say thank you to all who reviewed. But Jessica, I couldn't possibly do more slash because I'm absolutely terrible at it, therefore this is slash free, plus it would be extremely embarrassing if Dad decided to read any of my stories. Anyway, I thank you all once more.  
  
Dealing in Death  
  
Pippin's eyes blinked open, his vision was blurry and his limbs were heavy. He managed to focus upon a figure standing over him. That would be Merry. A hand was held out to him and he found some strength from somewhere and took it, it was strangely warm. It pulled him up and he stood, swaying slightly. Once he gained his balance he shook himself out and loosened himself up, it's surprising how being dead can really make your joints freeze up.  
  
"You certainly took your time didn't you?" said Merry jovially. "Hoy Frodo! He's up!" he yelled into the bushes. Pippin looked around, the last thing he remembered was being on the open road, he'd obviously been moved. He was now in a dense copse and, he now realised, covered in leaves. His mind was moving strangely slow.  
  
"At last!" said Frodo emerging silently from the bushes to one side. "Sam and I decided to get you a welcome dinner, you must be hungry." Pippin was certainly something, he wasn't sure he'd describe it as hungry, but he craved something. A screaming came from behind Frodo and Merry raised his eyebrow at him. "Yes, she's rather lively, we had to have a little taste to subdue her."  
  
Sam burst into the small clearing, dragging with him a hobbitlass familiar to Pippin.  
  
"Get your filthy hands off me demon!" She screamed into the night air. Sam rolled his eyes, he'd heard people scream that him far too much for it to have any affect on him at all, not that it ever really did. Pippin realised who she was.  
  
"Diamond! What are you doing down here? You know it's dangerous to be out in the dark, especially around these parts." Diamond stopped and looked at Pippin in complete disbelief.  
  
"They've got you, you're one of them." She was no longer struggling but just staring at Pippin, who, for his part, looked very confused. Merry nudged him.  
  
"Check your teeth." Pippin did so and found them to be sharper than he last remembered them being. The memory suddenly hit him, he remembered what had happened that night and how he had come to be 'one of them'. He shrugged it off.  
  
"Never mind that Diamond, what are you doing here?" Merry rolled his eyes; Pippin was going to have a conversation with his food.  
  
"I came to see you actually, but not like this." Pippin nearly said 'like what', but he remembered just in time. His mind was moving very slowly, probably another side affect of having been dead for, by the look of the stars, about five hours. Pippin smiled, the kindness lost amongst the pointy teeth and reddening eyes, but the intention was there. Pippin offered his hand to Diamond, who took it, as it seemed more comfortable that Sam's hard grip on her arms, she also thought she had more chance of getting away from Pippin. She had more chance of spouting wings and flying than making it out of that clearing alive.  
  
The moment Pippin touched Diamond's strong yet delicate wrist, his craving flamed up inside him. His vision became covered in a film of red, he could almost see through Diamond's skin to the blood pumping beneath it, his canine teeth grew longer so quickly they pierced his bottom lip.  
  
"Ow!" he shouted, one hand coming up to feel his teeth, while the other was still fixed firmly around Diamond's wrist.  
  
"You've got a good long set of fangs there." Observed Merry.  
  
"I haff?" said Pippin, his speech inhibited by his teeth, "Oh good! Now how do I get them thmaller?"  
  
"That comes with much practice, you may not be able to rid yourself of your fangs for days!" teased Frodo, Pippin smiled at him sarcastically.  
  
"Thank you for tha' Frodo, you're tho helpful." Amid all the danger and frightening demons, Diamond found the situation absurd enough to laugh at it. It was her undoing. The laugh drew Pippin's attention to her face, but after only a small time his eyes were dragged away from hers to the pulsing vein he could see so clearly at her neck. Suddenly he knew what to do.  
  
He pulled her to him and sank his teeth into her skin with the tenderness of a feral dog. Then he drank as though he hadn't had a single glass of water since the day he was born. Diamond was screaming in his ear, but he was in his own world and in his twisted world he heard her urging him on, begging him to take it all, and he was only too happy to oblige.  
  
Frodo watched as Diamond's screams turned to yells, then to feeble shouts and finally to the murmuring of one that's not quite awake. Soon she was beyond that, to the familiar short gasps, hanging limp in Pippin's arms. Finally Pippin dropped her, looking slightly disappointed that there wasn't any more and breathing deep, pointless breaths.  
  
Pippin looked down upon the body, searching for some remorse inside himself. He found nothing. To his surprise, he didn't mind at all. In fact, he quite liked the idea of never mourning ever again.  
  
"So what now? Anything else to eat?" said Pippin excitedly, he felt as though he were eight years old again and the world was a new and exciting place full of butterflies and daisies. Except now he'd rather squash them than wonder at their beauty. Frodo laughed,  
  
"You're far more eager than my esteemed gardener," he smiled at the term that he had refused to give up, though Sam hadn't gardened for a good many years. "And indeed even more so than your own cousin. Though that may have been the circumstances under which he awoke."  
  
"Certainly is! You try dealing with being a heartless killing demon when your last memory was of storming an abandoned smial to fight these very same things." Argued Merry.  
  
"Still Mr. Merry," Sam said mockingly, "Being pounced on in the middle of the night while in your bed is hardly perfect."  
  
"Come now you two, you both know mine was the worse-"Frodo was interrupted by Pippin swearing loudly.  
  
"Pippin! Where did you learn that language? I'm quite sure you didn't know it last time you spoke with me." said Merry calmly. Pippin however, was not so calm. One hand was clutching his head and the other was occupied keeping him upright, holding onto a tree. The bark splintered beneath Pippin's grip and he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.  
  
"Whatever is the matter my little Took?" said Frodo, watching Pippin with a mild interest.  
  
"Headache." Pippin blurted out between groans of pain. His visage was flicking from normal to demonic faster than a blink and then back again.  
  
"Headache? How odd, I've not had a headache since before Bilbo left." said Frodo.  
  
"May be something to do with that drink, you said he was drunk when you found him." said Sam as he watched Pippin detachedly.  
  
"Well whatever it is I hope it doesn't last too long, he took long enough to wake up." said Merry, eyeing Pippin with disdain, as though it was his fault he had a headache.  
  
"At least he doesn't seem to mind being undead, unlike a pair of hobbits I know, who happen to be in this clearing with me."  
  
"Alright Mr. Frodo, you've made your point, we were terrible to deal with when we woke. Sometimes I wonder why you bothered." All eyes were now averted from Pippin where he still stood dealing with this wave of pain that would have him retching on the floor had he anything in his stomach.  
  
"Well, it would have been terribly boring if I hadn't have wouldn't it?"  
  
"For us or you?" Frodo decided to let that question go unanswered and silence descended on the three, not counting the moans of pain still emitting from Pippin. Merry hit Frodo on the arm.  
  
"Breathe will you?" he said. Frodo rolled his eyes and continued breathing. It was a habit he'd long since grown out of but Merry, being younger, still found it disconcerting when he couldn't hear the familiar sound of another beside him, breathing.  
  
"I don't know why you insist on it so Merry,"  
  
"Perhaps Pippin has won with the worst waking," said Sam, bringing the topic of conversation back to something they hadn't discussed quite so many times before. The other two agreed and watched as Pippin slowly came back to himself.  
  
"Right," said Frodo, once Pippin's headache, or hangover, or whatever it was, had ended, albeit rather quickly, "Newly changed gets the choice, more food it is!" and no one could argue with that! 


	3. Encounters

A/N: Just because you wanted me to write them, I have two more chapters but I won't go beyond that because then the mystery starts to go and I'm sure you don't want to hear about everything a group of vampire hobbits would get up to. There's some kissing in this chapter but not described in anything that could be called detail.  
  
Dealing in Death  
  
More food is certainly what they had had, much to the despair of the residents of Tuckborough. But now they were walking and Pippin was catching up on all that had happened though there wasn't too much to catch up on.  
  
"Frodo,"  
  
"Yes Pippin?"  
  
"I know about the Gamgees and how they went to sleep one evening and were gone in the morning. And I know about Merry and all that avenging his father business, but what happened to you? And uncle Saradoc for that matter?"  
  
"Well, I think Merry killed him in the end."  
  
"What? That night?"  
  
"Oh no, later. I think they were fighting over, I'm not sure whom they were fighting over actually, I've forgotten. Merry, who did you kill your dad over?" Merry looked over to where Frodo and Pippin were walking and thought hard. He frowned as he racked his brains, he was sure the name was on the tip of his tongue.  
  
"I really don't know, I can't think of it at the moment, ask me later."  
  
"Right, that's one question answered, what of the other one?" pushed Pippin. Frodo smiled,  
  
"I can't say anything about what it was that changed me because I haven't a clue, but I'll tell you what I remember and perhaps you can work something out from it, though no doubt you'll be just as in the dark as the rest of us, so to speak.  
  
"As you probably know it was a few short weeks after Bilbo had left and I'd just sent Sam home after tea. It was getting dark and I was tired beyond belief, I don't know what it was I'd done that day, but it had tired me out no end and so I decided I'd have an early night. It wasn't an unusual occurrence and as far as I can remember I'd not done anything out of the ordinary that day at all. So there I was in bed with my mug of milk and a biscuit, just settling down when I hear a creak of the floorboards outside. Now, snug and warm in my bed and half asleep, I really didn't want to be bothered with going out to see what or who it was and Bag End is an old hole after all. So I drifted off to sleep.  
  
"Suddenly, some time into the early morning, I wake up for no apparent reason. I hadn't heard anything and hadn't had any nightmare of any kind so I was quite annoyed with having being disturbed from what had been a beautiful sleep. But for a reason I couldn't fathom, I couldn't get back to sleep, I was suddenly and unaccountably wide-awake. I wasn't going to lie in bed tossing and turning so I headed off to the study to find a book to read. But on the way there I heard something behind me. Naturally I turned to see what was there, but there was nothing, not even a door ajar, so I put it down to my imagination and turned back again. But before I'd even taken another step, I heard another noise, and not one I could disregard: a definite clunk. I turned and found one of the doors had swung open, I began to panic, there's only so much you can put down to an old hole.  
  
"Things start to get blurry from now on but I remember clearly the feel of breathing on my neck, of course that made me bolt though I am not sure where. From what Sam tells me there was quite the struggle, I like to think I put up a good fight. One thing I do remember after that, before waking up the next night arranged neatly in my bed, was the feeling of a thousand pinpricks running up and down my arms and finally piercing right into my neck. Judging from the bloodstains on the walls, I thought pinpricks could be quite close to the truth."  
  
"There were bloodstains on the walls? Why didn't anyone ever tell me anything interesting like that? All I was ever told was 'Frodo's gone to a better place'" said Pippin, mocking his mother's voice. "Where are we going anyway?"  
  
"We are going to Michel Delving." informed Merry.  
  
"Michel Delving? Whatever for?"  
  
"Outside the mayor's office there is a notice-board on which all missing persons notices are pinned. We like to go check who's been turned recently, see if it's anyone we know."  
  
Pippin seemed satisfied and they continued walking. Merry and Sam were getting closer and closer together and with a jump, Pippin realised they were kissing. He watched, half sickened, half excited and very confused.  
  
"You'll get used to it." Frodo whispered in his ear, "It just takes a while for the mind to catch up with the body. Try not to stare though, unless you think you'll come out on top in a fight." Pippin quickly averted his eyes and Frodo laughed in his ear, "I don't think you'll need to worry about those two, they did help to make you after all." Pippin still refused to look back at the pair though, if was going to have to keep eyes averted, he may as well start now.  
  
They reached Michel Delving in the darkest hour of the night, though to them it didn't look more than a cloudy day, as they rounded the corner to the notice board, they saw three hobbit lasses standing there talking to one another. The four of them strolled up to the board quite calmly, two of the lasses glanced over their shoulders at them and the turned back and they began to giggle.  
  
Something caught Pippin's eye and he turned his head to see a young lad, no more than nine years of age, staring out of the dark window of his house. Pippin flashed him his most charming smile and waved his hand, the child jumped back from the window, shocked, his face pale. Frodo laughed at the reaction and put his arm around Pippin's shoulder. The child came back to the window and Pippin gave him a final wink before he was out of sight.  
  
"No hogging the board you three, anyone we know?" Said Merry, he and Sam were further ahead than Frodo and Pippin, who were obviously going at a far more leisurely pace.  
  
"It seems someone's got Peregrin Took!" said one of the lasses, licking her lips, "Lucky them." Pippin didn't recognise the lass, but she plainly knew who he was, not that it was particularly odd for people to know who he was.  
  
"Really? Peregrin Took? Well that is a surprise!" said Sam, his voice positively dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Alright Sam, what do you know that I don't?" Pippin decided this would be a good time to clear his throat.  
  
"O, so it was you who were the lucky ones." Said the lass, her eyes roving all over Pippin's body, taking every inch of him in. Pippin looked over the lasses, two he didn't know, but the third he certainly did.  
  
"Pearl!" he exclaimed, "Mum told me you were dead!"  
  
"I am." she answered. Pippin rolled his eyes.  
  
"I mean she said they found your body."  
  
"Well she lied."  
  
"What's the matter with you? You're dead for ten years and suddenly you can't say more than three words at a time? Wait, that actually makes sense." Pearl just shrugged. "Does this mean Pervinca's not dead?" said Pippin out of interest.  
  
"Oh no, she's dead, I made sure of that." Pippin laughed a little, he remembered how much his two sisters disliked one another.  
  
"Hey, Rosie, who got Cock-Robin?" said Sam, studying the notices.  
  
"Robin Smallburrows? I think that was Bodo down Frogmorton way." Answered the first lass, who appeared to be called Rosie. "But they've left off somewhere, some say they went too near the borders and were got by the men."  
  
"There are men around the borders?" said Pippin, his eyes bright with eagerness.  
  
"He really is new isn't he?" said Rosie,  
  
"Just last night." answered Sam.  
  
"Pearl!" said Merry as though he'd just noticed she was there, "Would you happen to know why I killed Saradoc?"  
  
"Why would I know tha- wait, I do know that. Yes, it was over me, I still have the scars."  
  
"Yes! I remember!"  
  
"What happened?" asked Pippin.  
  
"Never mind, you'll find out sooner or later, some people are still talking about it. Apparently it was quite the fight. I wouldn't know, I was half dead through most of it." Pippin scowled at his sister, he was dead and still people wouldn't tell him everything! He dismissed that conversation and turned to Frodo.  
  
"Can we go see the men?" He said like a young child talking about lambs, "I want to know what one tastes like, what do they taste like?"  
  
"I honestly don't know Pippin, there's never been enough of us to overpower one, not to mention that they often travel in groups."  
  
"Can we try though? Please?" Frodo looked down at his cousin's pleading face and laughed,  
  
"Of course we can." He placed a kiss on Pippin's nose. Pippin smiled, he was glad he was still able to get his way when he wanted. "Well, if we are going to the borders, we should take our leave."  
  
"The borders? Why are we going there?" said Sam, who had been in such a conversation with Rosie that he hadn't heard Pippin and Frodo.  
  
"To catch us a man." said Frodo simply. Although the statement was not one likely to be heard everyday, or night as the case may be, Sam didn't seem phased at all and just shrugged. He gave Rosie a goodbye kiss and the two groups of vampires went their separate ways.  
  
A few hours down the deserted road (living things didn't walk freely by night and Frodo had such a reputation that the dead steered clear) they heard the trotting of a pony behind them. Frodo, Sam and Merry all glanced at one another and melted into the bushes at the side of the road, Leaving Pippin in the road, squinting against the bright light of the flaming torch the rider was holding. His eyes grew used to the light and his was able to discern the facial features and out of pure habit he waved, shouting "Fatty! Fatty!" The pony increased its pace to a canter, as it was still quite a way away. Before long the pony came to a halt beside Pippin, Fatty staring down at him in astonishment.  
  
"Pippin!" he yelled, "Where have you been? The whole of Great Smials has been in an uproar!" Pippin stared at Fatty in equal astonishment; Fatty thought he was still a living hobbit! "No need to look so surprised, you know that your mother and father fret after who whenever you're out of their sight." Pippin arranged his face into what he hoped was sad but friendly.  
  
"I know, but it's so stuffy there, I feel I'm being smothered and watched at every turn. I can't do anything without my parents being told, it's not natural for a tweenager!" Fatty smiled, sympathising with his friend.  
  
"But that's no need to go walking outside alone, and in the dark of all times to be walking! Goodness knows how you've managed to survive for so long!"  
  
"Perhaps I'm just lucky, but look at you talking about being out in the dark! You never told me you were allowed out at night!"  
  
"Only to look for friends and I don't enjoy it too much, galloping past old friends fighting like wild dogs at the side of the road and having to ward off hobbits with your torch." There was a pause. "Did you know Diamond was found dead last night?"  
  
"Yes," said Pippin dreamily, a blissful smile on his face. Then he realised he was meant to be sad about it, he pulled himself back into character and hung his head, "Yes." he said. Fatty's eyes widened.  
  
"You didn't... see anything did you?" Pippin looked back up at Fatty.  
  
"You could say that," said Pippin, trying desperately to keep his face straight. "Fatty, why don't you come down here, I'll get an awful neck looking at you up there."  
  
"I'd rather not, who knows what's in those bushes," Pippin could name at least three things. "Now why don't you come up here and I'll take you home?" that sounded good to Pippin, as long as he was on the same level as Fatty it didn't matter. He stepped forward to pat the pony, but it jerked away with a nervous snort, perhaps that plan wasn't going to work, he though he could hear the faintest giggle from the bushes behind him.  
  
"Fatty," said Pippin in a manner that suggested he was going to ask something, "Could you give me a leg up? I've been walking for ages and I'll never make it up there." Fatty looked down at Pippin, then glanced all around and finally nodded in assent. Pippin smiled in thanks and stepped back to give Fatty room.  
  
Pippin's attention was suddenly grabbed by the noise of thundering hooves, how he'd failed to notice such a noisy approach until now was beyond him.  
  
"FREDEGAR BOLGER!" bellowed the rider, "Don't you dare get off that horse!" Fatty, whose leg had been half over the pony's rear end just about to dismount quickly sat back down in the saddle. "Get away from him devil!" The rider yelled at Pippin. He notched an arrow from his quiver and pulled the bowstring back.  
  
"Dad! Don't! It's Pippin! Don't shoot him!" but the call had come too late and the arrow arced through the air. Pippin was frozen, he hadn't even the sense to step back, he could hear voices in the bushes calling to him but he couldn't work out what they were telling him to do. The arrow landed, it hit him right in the foot. Fatty cringed and for a second Pippin just looked at it until an unearthly scream of pain and anger ripped itself from his throat. Fatty's horse started and backed away from Pippin, Fatty sat on its back staring in horror.  
  
A film of red slid over Pippin's vision and he felt his teeth sharpen and grow. He yanked the arrow from his foot and threw it back like a javelin to where it had come from, he missed. Upon seeing that another arrow was being drawn he beat a hasty retreat back into the bushes where he collapsed on the ground, once again breathing hard and pointlessly.  
  
The other three were all grins, obviously having enjoyed being spectators.  
  
"Dad," Pippin heard Fatty saying the other side of the bushes, "He was a... he was trying to... he was going to eat me!" When he heard that, Pippin couldn't help smiling and soon all four of the burst into laughter as they slunk away from the road. 


	4. At the Borders

A/N: Here we go, our first encounter with men! Just like to say that exams are what caused my lateness, not me, blame the government. Thank you.  
  
Dealing in Death  
  
"Stop scratching it Pippin, you'll not make it any better that way," said Frodo as they continued their journey along the road.  
  
"But it shan't make it much worse either, seeing as how it should, by all rights, still be bleeding but is in fact nearly healed." Pippin stopped and rubbed his injured foot with the other until Merry yanked him off balance and so had to put his foot down.  
  
"You wouldn't be arguing if you'd seen what Frodo had done to others who disobeyed him."  
  
"Yes I would, you still do." Pippin raised his eyebrow, challenging Merry to disagree so he could list all kinds of things he'd heard, but Merry knew when he was beaten and backed down, Pippin was quite disappointed.  
  
"What do you say we stop here for the day?" said Sam, peering down an overgrown path that must have had some kind of dwelling at the end of it. They agreed and wandered, still lightly bickering, down to an empty house. Well, it looked empty, though it certainly didn't sound it. There were definitely two beings inside that would rather not be interrupted. So, naturally, Frodo saw fit to interrupt them.  
  
He pushed the door and with a creak, it grudgingly opened to reveal two hobbits, male and female, on the floor wearing considerably less than was suitable on such a cold night.  
  
"What are you doing in here? Get out!" Ordered the male, obviously not seeing exactly who it was in the doorway and not noticing that they were outnumbered two to one.  
  
"No." said Frodo civilly, "I really think it is you who should be the ones to get out." the hobbits on the floor jumped and shivered as they realised to whom they were talking.  
  
"Mr. Frodo sir!" said the lass, who was the first to gather herself together, "We are sorry! We didn't realise it was you! Nor you Mr. Samwise, Mr. Meriadoc." Pippin snorted, he obviously wasn't important enough to be mentioned. Frodo didn't move. "We'll just be going." said the lass and she kicked the lad still lying on the floor in what seemed to be some state of shock.  
  
"But it's nearly dawn!" cried the lad in dismay. The lass rolled her eyes, gathered up her skirts and exited as fast as she could manage. The four intruders stared at the remaining lad, he quickly caught on that he was more likely to survive dawn than Frodo and followed his partner into the night.  
  
Pippin smiled and hopped into the house. While the other three settled down onto a sofa they found at the back of the room, Pippin went off to explore. There wasn't much to explore, it was a very small house and a part of the roof had fallen in at the back.  
  
He stepped into a darkness in which even he could not see and shuffled around until he came upon something soft on the floor. He picked it, or at least part of it, up and felt it. It had fingers.  
  
"Ugh!" he said as he dropped the arm back to the floor with a thud.  
  
"What is it?" called Merry sleepily from the other room.  
  
"The previous occupant of the house I think." Pippin carefully made his way back to the front room as the smell wasn't particularly pleasant. He shut the front door and settled himself down into an armchair.  
  
The next evening, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, four well- rested vampires emerged from the house stretching and made their way back towards the borders.

* * *

The night was drawing on and still Aragorn had only met a pair of vampires and they had been dispatched easily enough. It seemed as though it was going to be a quiet night, he mustn't let his guard down though. He called to the rest of the rangers that travelled with him, they were a group of four, using various birdcalls and two replied telling him all was well.  
  
The third, from up ahead gave an owl hoot, a sign that meant something approached on the road. Aragorn made his own way to the road. This was how they caught vampires, one of them would walk alone on the road and the other three would hide in the bushes surrounding and ambush when the signal was given.  
  
"Are we nearly there? My foot still hurts." Aragorn jumped and looked up, they were closer than he had expected but they were not in sight just yet.  
  
"Quiet Pippin, I think I hear footsteps far too load to be a hobbit's." Aragorn stopped walking and glanced around to check the others were in position. "Is anyone there?" the voice called forward, seemingly nervous.  
  
"Yes, I am." said Aragorn, as though that would clear everything up. Four hobbits then appeared around the corner. Four! That was odd in itself, it wasn't often that four vampires were able to get along without one of them being killed, perhaps they were actually hobbits trying to flee the Shire.  
  
"Hello there!" called one of the hobbits, a tall one with an untrusting look, Aragorn couldn't blame him, he doubted that much could be trusted on these roads anymore. "It's been a long time since I've seen a friendly face in these parts. Have I found one at last or do I have to keep looking?"  
  
"That depends if you're alive or dead." said Aragorn, smiling slightly, this didn't sound like vampire talk but still, he shouldn't let his guard down.  
  
"We're alive," stated another of the hobbits, more stout than the others, "But do you really think anything dead would say so?" Aragorn chuckled,  
  
"No," He admitted, "But it may catch out those with slower wits."  
  
"What brings you out here at this time of night?" asked the tall one.  
  
"I could ask the same of you."  
  
"Well we asked first, so really you should be the one to answer." Said the one on the end, he looked to be the most energetic and slim, his face was more tanned than the other three.  
  
"Very well, I am out hunting." They didn't bother to ask what he was hunting, it wasn't that hard to guess.  
  
"On your own?" said the one who hadn't spoken so far, he had broad shoulders and his look was calculating and still mistrusting. Aragorn opened his mouth to reply but the stout hobbit beat him to it.  
  
"No, look, there's someone above our heads and aiming an arrow at us if I'm not mistaken!" Anborn, who was the one above their heads jumped, he thought he had been quite well hidden. Aragorn laughed.  
  
"There's another over there." stated the slim one pointing to another of Aragorn's men. Aragorn could barely keep upright after seeing the look on his face.  
  
"And another." Indeed, they had all been found out and Aragorn called them all onto the open road. Anborn brought with him a torch. The slim one hissed at the sudden introduction of light. Hissed? All arrows were suddenly notched, back on the bowstring.  
  
"Pippin!" cried one of the hobbits, "Of all the things you could have done at that moment in time you went and hissed!"  
  
"I couldn't help it! It hurt my eyes!"  
  
"It hurt my eyes as well but I managed to refrain from hissing!" All four rangers were frozen watching the argument as though they were under a spell.  
  
"This is only the third time I've been out at night for over a decade! What do you expect?"  
  
"Merry, it's time you stopped using the excuse that you're young and let Pippin use it, you could barely open your eyes in moonlight." The one called Merry shot an annoyed look at his apparent elder.  
  
"Moonlight and hunter's torches are two completely different things!"  
  
"Did I ask to be bitten? Did I wander down the road yelling, 'Oy Merry! Come and bite me!'"  
  
"No, but you were wandering around at night, that's good enough for me."  
  
"Please you two, this is neither the time nor the place, and you were getting along so well earlier!" Their elder put that argument to rest, at least for the moment it seemed. They four vampires turned their gazes back to the rangers who shifted uneasily, they were still trying to work out why they hadn't loosed their arrows yet.  
  
The tall one, the leader, raised his eyebrow and smirked, "Well, are you going to stand there all night and wait for the sun to burn us away?"  
  
"Don't tempt them Frodo!" said Pippin a little worriedly, he looked to be only just stopping himself from running into the bushes and he rubbed his foot absentmindedly with the other. Aragorn gave a jolt. Frodo! This was Frodo! The tales he'd heard babbled from the mouths of his prey were numerous and decidedly unpleasant. Not only that but this creature, once Frodo Baggins of Bag End, still carried with him a tool of great evil. He only knew what he could work out from Gandalf's riddles but from that, he knew that it was not anything that should be in the hands of vampires.  
  
Seeing his friend stare in such wide-eyed horror at the vampires, Anborn snapped back into reality and at last let his arrow fly. Judging from the breathless scream, he had hit something but the four fled into the shadows so quickly that it was hard to see anything more.  
  
They would have to keep a good watch tonight 


	5. Endings

A/N: Well here it is, the last chapter. Think of it as a birthday treat. This would be, I believe, my first multi-chaptered story that I've finished but before we get there I have something else to say.  
  
**Hope**, thank you for reviewing and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. I realise that the hobbits in the movie and book were trying to help people, but the hobbits in the movie and book weren't vampires. I've always thought of vampires as cold-blooded killers, no matter what they were like in life so I won't change that aspect of the story but I appreciate your thoughts.  
  
To all other reviewers, thank you for your support, this was probably the fic I had most trouble with posting-wise (not everyone likes vampires you know). You also have my apologies for blatant favourism.  
  
Ooh, and just before I leave you, I should probably warn of character death(s). I wasn't going to come all this way and then not kill anyone.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Dealing in Death

The men returned quickly to the road, their eyes often fixed upwards so as to spot any hobbits that intended on dropping out of the branches above their heads. They made it safely to the road but were even more uneasy than when they left it. Now all four of them knew what Aragorn had suspected; these four vampires were not the norm.  
  
Every rustle of the leaves made the usually sturdy men jump and stare fearfully in the direction of the noise. It often proved to be just the breeze or a bird. But sometimes they saw the glint of moonlight reflecting from something, an eye or tooth. The men could not shake the feeling that tonight, they were the prey.  
  
Aragorn swept the area with his eyes once more. The light of the torch he carried was now all but useless; the moon was strong enough to flood the warm glow with its own silvery light. He glanced up to the moon, though usually thankful for its light, tonight he wished for it to be black because then at least neither group would be able to see the other.  
  
"Hello again." stated a voice from down in front of him. He jumped and looked down to find Frodo standing there with a deceptively friendly smile on his face. Aragorn glanced over his shoulder to make sure his men were ready for whatever the vampires had in store. They were not. They were lying on the floor fast asleep. Aragorn looked back to Frodo, whose smile had grown slightly cold.  
  
"How did you..." Aragorn's question slowly ground to a halt.  
  
"We're just very, very lucky." Three more figures slid out from the darkness and stood before Aragorn unwavering and unblinking.  
  
"Would you care to put that torch out, it's still hurting my eyes." Aragorn's gaze moved to Pippin but he did nothing, "Ah well, it was worth a try." Pippin then shifted slightly and glanced behind him at Merry, who was grinning enough to show his teeth in all their sharpened glory. "Merry, I swear if you put your hand there again I'll bite it off." Merry raised both his hands into view and Pippin nodded.  
  
"You're new aren't you?" said Aragorn. Pippin looked back at Aragorn and smiled.  
  
"Peregrin Took is my name," he bowed, "I have spent the shortest time alive and the shortest time dead." Frodo looked to Pippin with his eyebrows raised.  
  
"Why, so you have! Perhaps we should have left you to mature longer," Frodo held his hand out to Pippin and Pippin took it. Frodo pulled him in close, "Would you have preferred that?"  
  
"What? And spend even longer shut up in the Smials with my constantly grieving family? No thank you!" Aragorn moved his hand nearer the hilt of his sword, Merry and Sam stepped forward and growled. Frodo looked up at Aragorn again over Pippin's shoulder.  
  
"My good man, why do you have to be so hostile?" he flashed his teeth, "Can we not just talk?" Aragorn looked at Frodo, if he could talk for long enough, the others may wake up and he would not be so greatly outnumbered. He knew that if he failed now, it would mean death for all four of them.  
  
"What do you wish to talk about?" Frodo smiled and Pippin turned around once more, but didn't let go of Frodo's hand.  
  
"Your name is Aragorn, yes?" Aragorn nodded, "Would you happen to know anything of Gandalf the Grey?" Aragorn frowned.  
  
"Why would I know anything of Gandalf the Grey?" Frodo laughed and stepped closer to the man.  
  
"Just as I am no longer a hobbit, I am no longer completely naïve of the outside world. Dwarves can be quite talkative with the right persuasion." that would explain why Aragorn saw so few dwarves any more.  
  
"You've had dwarves? What are they like?" butted in Pippin.  
  
"You wouldn't like them Pip, they're very salty, especially when they've been travelling, not to mention bland after all they've been eating is cram. Terrible stuff that." said Merry.  
  
"Their armour almost doesn't make it worth the effort," added Sam, "You can't reach their necks so you have to-"  
  
"Sam! I don't think our friend here wants to know all the details of catching and killing a dwarf." Aragorn only just managed to stop himself from thanking Frodo, he didn't think it quite right that he should. "So, you know of Gandalf the Grey?"  
  
"I know _of_ him, yes." Frodo rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.  
  
"Look, my patience has grown a lot shorter since my untimely death and it is wise not to provoke me. Have you spoken with him or not?" Aragorn glanced over his shoulder, the others were still fast asleep. He looked back at the now red-eyed Frodo.  
  
"Yes," he admitted, "Yes, I have spoken with him." It seemed to Aragorn that there were two other breaths, besides his own, that were released when Frodo's eyes returned to their true colour. He surmised that it was Merry and Sam, as Pippin was standing behind Frodo and could not see his face.  
  
"Has he said anything about me?" Frodo's eyes narrowed.  
  
"He has mentioned you, more than once," Frodo raised his eyebrows, indicating for Aragorn to elaborate, "He has said that you... carry something, of great importance." Frodo smirked and all eyes were immediately on him. He put his hand into his breast pocket and pulled out a ring, a gold ring. Perfectly shaped, it seemed to shine with its own light.  
  
"I do." said Frodo simply.  
  
Pippin came forward and stared at the ring over Frodo's shoulder. His arm, almost of its own will, reached towards it. Quicker than the eye could follow, Frodo grabbed Pippin's arm and dug his fingernails in. Pippin yelped as the nails dug into his flesh and drew blood. "That would be a very foolish thing to do, my Pippin," said Frodo as he released Pippin's arm.  
  
"You could've just said it, no need to go ripping my arm off," grumbled Pippin as he tried to lick his arm clean. Frodo laughed as he languidly licked the blood from each of his fingers. He gazed at the ring for a long moment before he hid it away back in his pocket.  
  
"Well, Aragorn, does that answer any of Gandalf's riddles?" Aragorn was thinking on that very same subject.  
  
"That is Bilbo's ring? The one he found in Gollum's cave?" Frodo smiled an almost genuine smile.  
  
"You know your Baggins family history! Well, that is a surprise!"  
  
"I know a Baggins." Frodo let a little chuckle loose.  
  
"I don't suppose you could avoid knowing Baggins history if you know a Baggins. Bilbo?" Aragorn nodded. "How is he?"  
  
"Distraught would be the best word." said Aragorn grimly.  
  
"Too bad," Pippin, finding a slight gap in the conversation, came forward once again.  
  
"If that's Bilbo's magic ring, why don't you use it?" he asked.  
  
"Because Gandalf said it would be best if I didn't and even if he would kill us on sight nowadays, there's no doubting his wisdom." Pippin opened his mouth to express something along the lines of 'but surely if we're enemies of Gandalf then other enemies of Gandalf would be on our side'. "Don't get me wrong," continued Frodo before Pippin could get anywhere with his thought, "I love death and destruction just as much as the next vampire but I also quite enjoy the Shire as it is. There's no need to go changing it," the small smile faded from Frodo's face.  
  
"Frodo,"  
  
"Yes Merry dear?"  
  
"I'm bored." Merry was looking at Aragorn in a most unnerving way and Aragorn realised that he wouldn't be able to hold off the inevitable any longer.  
  
"Anborn! Everyone! Wake up!" Aragorn yelled, drawing his sword. The he made a mistake, he looked over his shoulder to see if his companions had awoken. That they were only just rousing would not save him. Even though his eyes were off them for only a second, the hobbits took their chance.  
  
They leapt upon him. He saw only their red eyes glaring out at him before he squeezed his own eyes shut in pain. As much as Aragorn twisted turned, there were always at least three bodies on him. If he ever managed to throw one off, it would return it just as quickly. His fate was sealed when he failed to keep his balance, once he was on the ground the hobbits were able to pin him down and do whatever they would.  
  
As Aragorn faded, a new sound of weapons being drawn drew the hobbits from him and they found themselves face to face with three very angry men.  
  
The fight that ensued was short but very bloody. The noise could be heard all the way back in Brandy Hall. The silence when it finished did not comfort the hobbits whom had been awakened and were now shivering with fright in their beds. Who had been fighting? And perhaps more importantly: who had won?  
  
Closer to the scene, had anyone dared go there, they would have heard a faint sucking sound and then a satisfied sigh,  
  
"Come here Pip and try this one!"  
  
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly eat another bite. Where's Merry?"  
  
"With Sam,"  
  
"With Sam where?"  
  
"Oh they're about, though I doubt they're more than dust floating on the breeze."  
  
"You mean they were killed?"  
  
"Oh yes, this chap here got Merry and someone over there cut Sam's head off."  
  
"Oh,"  
  
There was a short lull in the conversation.  
  
"Do you want to go see the bloodstains at Bag End?"  
  
"Yes please!"  
  
"Well come along then, and wipe your face you silly Took."


End file.
